Fact or Fiction: Kirby Smart will be first ex-assistant to beat Nick Saban
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
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1. Kirby Smart will be the first former assistant to beat Nick Saban.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like Alabama in this game because of the dynamic offense. With or without Saban on the sidelines, it will pull this one out. Saban has his team ready, he’s torn into his defense and his offensive line and you will see a different Alabama team than you saw against Ole Miss. It won’t be a blowout but the game won’t be in doubt either.
Gorney’s take: FACT. If there was ever a time for Georgia to beat Alabama and maybe start that slow and arduous climb of taking over the Crimson Tide on top of the SEC mountain, this would be it. Georgia’s defense has been insanely good - at least against some weak offensive teams. Saban not being on the sidelines is going to be significant and Georgia just might be the better overall team this season.
What worries me is the offensive firepower for the Bulldogs, but my bet is they can line up and run the ball on Alabama and keep this game close. Maybe it doesn’t happen this year, but Smart will beat Saban at some point. With three-straight No. 1 recruiting classes, he better.
2. Kellen Mond and the Aggies will win out.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Tennesse, LSU and Auburn are the real challenges left for the Aggies and if Mond plays the way he did against Florida, he could carve up those defenses. My only concern? Whenever I believe in Mond, he fails me. He’s so inconsistent it’s an issue.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Texas A&M is coming off a nice win over Florida, but that game could have easily been lost as well. So could have the opener against Vanderbilt if the Commodores had any kind of pulse on offense. Jimbo Fisher is slowly - maybe very slowly - turning a corner with the A&M program, and he’s recruiting very well but I don’t yet have the faith to say A&M is going to win out.
Every time I think the Aggies are going to become a player in the SEC West, every time I hear that they’re the sleeping giant in the conference, they tend to disappoint somewhere and reality comes back to bite me. It will probably happen again sometime this season.
3. Michigan will upend Ohio State this season.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Sorry, not a chance. Ryan Day wants to run it up against Michigan this season and the talent gap is immense. The game is a long way away, but it’s never too early to hype the anticipation and Jim Harbaugh needs this win badly. He won’t get it. Justin Fields and company will hang 50 on him.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. This is a rivalry in name only, grounded in history dating back to the late 1800s and I get that it’s still an important piece of college football lore, but let’s get real: Ohio State owns Michigan and has for 20 years. The Buckeyes have won eight in a row, nine of the last 10 and 17 of the last 19. That means a freshman in college at 18 years old has seen Michigan beat Ohio State twice in their entire lives. And now the Buckeyes might have the best team in the country? No way, Ohio State big.